Soul Flare
by Rapturous Arc
Summary: With a devastating loss to Lysandre, Calem makes one last attempt to deactivate the ultimate weapon before it destroys Kalos. He ends up getting captured and Team Flare refuses to let his potential go to waste. As he resists captivity and their efforts to brainwash him from his memories, Serena and the others search for a way to save him. CalemXSerena. Will have Dark moments.
1. Pilot

**Hello and welcome to my newest entry into the Pokemon archive. This one unlike my previous entries will be much darker and full of plot twists. In short, Calem is the main playable character and Serena is the rival. Calem gets captured by Team Flare and has to suffer for his loss against them.  
**

**Without further ado, enjoy. I do not own Pokemon.**

* * *

Desperation was a varying emotion. Some people relied on it to save their skin, others rarely tapped into its abilities, knowing that it was likely to be unsuccessful. It often clouded judgment and common sense.

In a Pokemon battle, desperation meant having one Pokemon left with ineffective moves and their back against the wall.

Desperation was what the trainer Calem was feeling, in the most intensive Pokemon battle he had ever done and this is the one he could not afford to lose.

Standing tall, he wasn't overly muscled or slim. His black hair went down past his ears, covered by a red hat with a pair of sunglasses perched atop. He wore a jacket and blue jeans with a pair of sturdy boots laced onto his feet.

Those who met Calem would often compliment not just his looks, but attitude. Sure, he was a very handsome young man, being an eye turner for many of the opposite gender, but his true impression was his undeniable integrity and attitude. Being backed in a corner and in his own panic was completely new, to him, to Lysandre and the two girls watching the battle swing quickly in the Flare boss' favor.

Lysandre was Team Flare's founder and boss. He had orange hair and wore a sleek dark jacket outlined in red trim. His left middle finger had a Mega Ring of his own and now he had a trio of cybernetic arms sprouting from behind. His eyes were set in a joyful expression, although hidden by optics. The leader of Team Flare was getting very close to achieving his goal of a utopian world and now one of the strongest trainers he had ever faced stood in his way.

The Mega Gyrados was a juggernaut, having eliminated two of Pokemon already and about to claim its third. However, Calem refused to surrender, even when defeat was inevitable.

"You certainly got a blazing fire in you kid!" The leader of Team Flare said, "I'll give ya that, but it's all over!" He signaled the Gyrados, whose head lowered and charged at a blinding speed in the steel-typed Iron Head.

"Not yet." Calem muttered, eyes focused, "Chesnaught, dodge it!"

Chesnaught was his very first Pokemon; having stood by his side from the beginning of his journey months ago. Like Calem, he was stoic and calm, but could also be a fierce battler. He ducked low to the ground, allowing the massive beast to pass right over him.

"Good." Calem continued, "Now use, Needle Arm!"

The Mega Gyrados had just turned when Chesnaught slammed its thick limb straight upwards into its midsection. It let out a howl of pain as the highly damaging move connected. The force lifted it up before it regained its balance, coming again opposite the Armor Pokemon.

"Aqua Tail!"

"Spiky Shield!" In a motion faster than Calem could recognize, Gyrados' tail spun around. His Chesnaught barely got his protective weapon in time. Without any time to avoid his swinging tail, Gyrados once again recoiled and fell to the ground in an earth shaking impact.

Lysandre brought his hand to his chin and Calem thought he saw a hint of a smile play. "Use Outrage."

Outrage was a highly damaging attack and it couldn't be evaded forever. Since he had just used Spiky Shield, Gyrados would likely find a way to bypass it. Any attempts to counterattack wouldn't really work either.

Chesnaught raised its arms in defense as Gyrados rampaged straight into it. The Grass type flew backwards, tumbling to Calem's feet and ending up on one knee. It looked at the triumphant Mega evolved enemy in defiance before collapsing.

Calem found himself breathing heavily. He had just lost. Sure, he had taken his share of defeats, but this one, where the lives of countless people hung at stake stung. It seemed to be even worse when Shauna…and Serena were watching it unfold right behind him.

Chesnaught rumbled, trying to stand once again despite its injuries. It sent a glare to the Mega Gyrados before readying its left arm in prickly needles to resume the fight. Before it could launch an attack, Calem placed his hand on the right arm. He shook his head when he was looked at in confusion.

"No. I know you want to continue, but the battle is lost. It's not your fault."

"That is true." Lysandre's expression remained unchanged despite his huge victory, "You fought very well. You would have made one formidable Champion. However, now with my ultimate weapon nearing firing strength, that won't happen."

He smiled finally before turning back to the pillar above.

"We have to do something!" Serena cried.

"But what?" Shauna replied.

Calem recalled Chesnaught. "Follow me." He turned and took off running from where he had come from. Serena and Shauna on his heels.

Lysandre looked up in triumph at the ultimate weapon, a clear giant flower shaped behemoth that had sprung seemingly out of nowhere in the center of town. From his earliest knowledge, he had known that it was located here and thus set up an underground complex specifically for the purpose of this moment. It would be savored for the remainder of his life, which after this, would never fade away.

He glanced backwards, hoping to see the three behind staring in awe. Instead, he saw a door being shut.

"No!" He shouted, already recalling his Gyrados and breaking into a dead sprint after them.

* * *

"What's your plan?" Serena asked as they began to descend down once more. The Flare complex was a complete nexus of twisting corridors of namely dark walls that were dankly illuminated by lights. The other two seemed to already get lost. However, he never forgot all the turns and twists.

"I battled this guy named Xerosic earlier." Calem explained, "He gave me a choice of two buttons. One red and one blue. I chose the red, which had activated the weapon."

"So you're saying that the blue one could turn it off?" Shauna asked.

"I doubt it, but it's all I've got."

Another corner rounding and they came to the vast wide room that held into where the ultimate weapon was powered. The buttons stood on either side of two metal blocks where they were backed by machines that made a low humming noise; being doubtlessly at work.

"I know!" Shauna jumped up and ran right between the two sides of the machine. There was a bit of mist hanging through the air that was blurring his vision.

"Shauna wait!" Calem halted right before the opening and darted right up to the blue button. Serena came up behind him, already anticipation creeping into her veins.

"Serena." He turned around, staring straight at her in the eye. His steel grey eyes met hers.

"What are you waiting for?!" She shouted, "Stop it already!"

"No! Listen!" He reached into his bag and pulled out six pokeballs. "My Pokemon. Take care of them."

He eased them into her bag. She looked back up when he finished and put her hand on his shoulder, "No. We go together."

"That's not an option. I'm taking the precaution." He turned back to push the blue button. Initially nothing happened, causing his heart to sink. Now he was out of ideas on how to stop the world from destruction.

"I don't want to be remembered as a hero by everybody for stopping Flare." He said, almost in a whisper. "Just by you."

Before she could respond, the machines began to suddenly drop in pitch. Calem and Serena froze, as if they were under surveillance while it shut down. Finally, an eerie silence descended across the room.

"It worked!" Both trainers turned to see Shauna bounding out again. She held a clear crystal in her hands about the size of her fist. It seemed to radiate immense energy, yet unharmed as it contacted her skin.

"What is that?"

"Looked like a crystal used to power the weapon. Team Flare must have found a way to boost its output. So I had my Greninja sever its cords with Water Shuriken and sure enough, it cut the power."

"You know that having that means that Flare will be onto us?"

"Yep." She didn't need further explanation and took off in a different direction.

"Let's go." Serena waited until her footsteps had faded when they stood and briskly dashed to the exit.

The Mega Gyrados' tail struck without warning. Serena had luckily been a mere four feet in front of Calem when it swept the boy right off his feet. He found himself airborne for a second before he impacted the ground. His left arm was extended fully in reflex and he felt a tremendous amount of pain shoot straight through as he fell right on top of it. Letting out a cry, he gritted his teeth, trying desperately to blink away the rapid flow of tears that came to his eyes.

"No!" Serena shouted, seeing what had happened a split second later. She attempted to rush to his aid, but found herself being restrained, thanks to a pair of Flare Grunts who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Let go of me!" Her squirming served only to cause them to tighten their grips.

"Even once you are defeated in battle do you continue to interfere with me!" Lysandre had now lost his calm composure and his face was in a frightening expression of white hot anger. "Now I shall make you pay for that. Your ring now means nothing."

The Mega Ring. Calem's hard-won prize was on his left arm, the one that was seriously injured. As Lysandre continued to stride forward, intent on taking it from him, he reached over and began to pry it off his wrist, letting out a wince of pain as fire shot straight through his arm.

"Serena, here!" Calem had only one shot at this. He weakly took it with his right arm and tossed it as best he could.

The female trainer shifted right, allowing her restrainers to move with her and suddenly, she twisted left, using the opposite motion against them. Shooting out, she felt the ring slip into her fingers and jammed it inside a pocket in her bag before anyone else could react.

Lysandre stopped at this action, taking no notice of the grunts once again recapturing Serena. Calem was now barely conscious, the pain in his arm stronger than before. He knelt down and looked over him.

"What a hero." There was no emotion in his voice. The emptiness was nearly equal to the Yveltal he attempted to release. "You're good. Really good."

"CALEM!"

"Get her out of here!" Lysandre shouted. "Make sure she doesn't come back!"

"What about the ring?" One of the grunts asked.

"Doesn't matter now. I was never truly after it anyway." Upon his response, the grunts nodded and began to escort a still struggling Serena away. Before she was out of sight, she cast one final glance at Calem, regretting that she wouldn't be there to help her friend.

The Flare leader looked down when the grunts and Serena had vanished. His victim had now relaxed, lying limply, but still kept his steel eyes on him. His head lay on the floor and the only movement he made was the steady breathing of his chest that slowly rose and fell.

"What a pity. You could have voluntarily joined with me. You had to continue opposing me didn't you? Now you don't have a choice. You belong to me now."

Lysandre brought his boot right on top of Calem's face, causing him to see nothing but blackness.

* * *

**Hello and welcome to my newest project on the Pokemon archive!**

**It has been a long time since I was last on here, but thanks to the release of Pokemon X and Y, I have busied myself with a story entry to that series.**

**This is the pilot chapter, meaning that all the feedback, whether positive or negative will ultimately determine if I will make any more chapters. Honestly, I am expecting a mixed bag, since this is the first time I've come back with a different approach to writing. Everyone may not be used to it. I know everyone reading may not be a Halo fan, but do check out the Blades' stories in that archive to see more examples of my work if you would like. That way I can adjust also to see what my readers can/will expect.  
**

**Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	2. Birthdays

Once she had been escorted out, they yelled at her to run. Fight or flight instincts took over and she automatically began sprinting without thinking. The thought occupied so much of her mind that she never saw it up ahead. Serena tripped over a rock as she ran even further away from the two Flare grunts that had escorted her out. Gasping in pain, she made no move to get up, as if moving would have been deadly. Thankfully she had fallen on her side when hitting the ground, so she had only suffered a bruise.

"That's right sweetheart!" One of the grunts waved at her before they turned back, "You better run!"

She could only wipe away the tears that welled in her eyes as she looked back at the town. Nobody was outside, for fear of Team Flare exacting their anger. In that distant area, the glowing tips of what energy remained stored inside the ultimate weapon pulsed every few seconds, as if it had a life of its own to try and fire.

The ultimate weapon seemed more like a radioactive flower, pulsing out waves that would kill living things in its radius. Used to end a devastating war long ago, it now served as the sole motive behind Flare's ambitions.

"Serena!" A voice said, seeming to echo through her ears. She looked up, staring right into the face of Tierno.

Tierno was a large boy with a black shirt and yellowish shorts. Despite his big appearance, he was a very good dancer and his dream was to make a dance team with Pokemon. He too, hailed from Serena's home of Vaniville.

"Are you alright?" He reached out with his hand and helped her up.

"I'm fine."

"Hey!" This time Shauna and a boy with orange hair and green clothes ran right behind Tierno. "Serena!"

"Trevor." She looked at the other boy. Trevor was highly intelligent, the young son of a successful university teacher in Lumoise City. In a questioning gesture, they all looked around. "Where's Calem?"

Tears began to well in Serena's eyes again, but this time, she refused to cry, not when all the others were around.

"Calem…He's gone."

"What!" The three others shouted in huge surprise. "He's gone?"

"He's not dead. Team Flare took him as a prisoner."

Team Flare had never taken prisoners. Not even vital targets to their scheming. The fact the Calem's capture was a first proved that he had something that they wanted. It was uncertain if it was bad or not. Serena had seen Lysandre's attitude towards him when she was dragged away. It was the most helpless feeling seeing a friend in pain and distress and unable to do anything about it.

"We have to go back and save him!" She stood.

"No!" Trevor shouted, "That would be walking straight into a trap!"

"It's Calem we're talking about!"

"Serena!" Tierno put his hands on her shoulders forcefully. The action almost made her stumble back, but the dancer's hands kept her firmly placed. "We all go back and nobody gets out!"

He released her and took a deep breath to clear his mind. "I want to rescue him just as much as you do, but we don't have a good choice. The only way we'd be able to see him again is to turn ourselves in to Team Flare and be prisoners right next to him!"

"So then what do we do?" Shauna asked, stepping forward in an almost timid manner.

"We'd keep going." Tierno said. "That's what Calem would want us to do if he were ever gone."

Serena remembered what he had said back underground. He didn't want to be remembered as a hero.

"What's the point?" She looked up at her three friends. "Calem's gone. He was what really brought us together. It won't be the same."

It was hard to admit, but she was right. Even though he had met each of them in separate occasions while they were away, they all had been brightened with his moods. He wasn't overly talkative or quiet and his mind always seemed focused on the task at hand while maintaining awareness of everything else. It had been as if the last source of heat had been blown out in an icy cave, leaving an empty cold feeling in them.

"Let's just go home." Serena finally said looking down. Already, she was dreading having to tell Calem's mother Grace about what had happened.

* * *

Calem awoke with a start, his heart rate spiking rapidly as he took in the shadowy surroundings. He was inside a small concrete room with a single door. The stone walls felt cold that made him shiver. At first, he wondered why, but then realized that he now had a rough fabric T-shirt and shorts on. His trainer clothes and bag were nowhere to be seen. A faint glow from outside could be seen, providing barely enough light to keep himself from figuring out the time of day and where he was.

His broken arm had a sticky reddish gel covering it. Movement still had pain shooting through, but the gel had seemed to be moving into his skin, obviously unseen.

"Perfect." He whispered in sarcasm. "And now it's my birthday and I get to spend it in a toilet hole."

He had waited all year for his birthday to revolve around. Turning a year older, more mature and another year to get closer to his goal, becoming a Pokemon Champion.

His only wish would have been to spend it with his friends, maybe just go and hang out at Lumoise, followed by a simple sunset watching and stargazing with Serena.

Serena. He hadn't been overly expressive to much of his friends, but Serena was the one person he cared for a lot. Sure, she was his competitor in climbing toward the top, but he wanted to pursue a relationship with her that extended far beyond being mere friends. He now wished that she and the rest of his friends were somewhere safe, far away from this nightmare of a place. He was still glad that his Pokemon were safe with her. She would take good care of them.

The sound of a door unlocking brought him out of his thoughts. He heard voices before it had swung open. A hand grabbed the back of his arms and it tightened; a gesture that allowed a second unseen Team Flare grunt to place a blindfold around his eyes. Calem did nothing to fight back, knowing that a broken arm would end up in even more pain and Flare reinforcements weren't too far away to quickly contain him.

"Now walk forward." As he did, the Flare grunts steered him left and right. After a while of moving through indistinguishable turns, they had grumbled in frustration and grabbed his arm, causing it to radiate pain once again. Yet this time, he held back from screaming. He steeled himself, they wouldn't be able to break him. No matter what they tried.

Calem found the blindfold had been ripped away from his face and blinked twice as his eyes were exposed to the relentless barrage of bright light. Suddenly, he was hit straight in the chest by a stream of freezing water before he realized what was happening. Finally, it clicked and he began tearing away the soaked rough clothes inside the shower stall.

The water was cold, maybe even colder than the concrete cell he was being held in, but it still felt better than before, as if it could awaken him from this nightmarish place. He had only one small bar of white soap, which at first seemed to be slathered with oil since it continued to slide in his hands.

After a while, the freezing water showerhead had shut off. The door opened to his right and a Flare grunt tossed in a towel, awkwardly averting his eyes. The trainer now felt exposed and more vulnerable than ever before, at first he had been stripped of his Pokemon, well, not forcefully and now he had no clothes to wear. What else were they going to take from him? It felt more awkward than shameful. If anything optimistic came out of it, it was that the air now felt warmer after his chilly shower.

He was led out once he tied it around his waist into another vast room just at the end of the hallway where the grunts wordlessly gestured inside. No choice was being given, so Calem stepped through.

A single light snapped on in the center, illuminating the tall figure standing next to it. He saw an electronic tablet sitting on a plain metal table. Upon close examination, he had his back to him.

"I have brought you a spare change of clothes beside the table." Lysandre turned around and pointed to his right. Looking over, he saw a pile which had a gray jacket, a pair of brown cargo pants and a white T-shirt. He made no effort to move, yet stared with an intensity that only meant that he was the one in control now. "I also hope your arm is doing well. The gel applied is a prototype healing quality."

Calem unwound the towel and quickly picked up the clothes. While he was pulling them on, Lysandre lowered his head, looking away. At least he still had the humility. When he fastened his pants on, the Flare leader finally resumed pegging the hard stare and sat down opposite the table.

"Now let's begin by starting real simple. Why are you here?"

Calem knew Lysandre's approach. He was playing mind games, something that his own inspiration had derived from. It was a form of torture that there was no defense against. He wanted Calem to join with him and wipe out all who ever decided to even think about opposing Team Flare. However, the boy wasn't going to break easily. There was still a line between standing up to a captor and being utterly stupid. The latter decision would get him killed. Part of an interrogation was to never reveal the intentions of an interrogator while torturing the victim, leaving them no option but to tell the truth.

"I walked right in." Calem responded sarcastically, "Threw up my hands and surrendered."

"Let me stop you right there." Lysandre interrupted, "You need to answer in a civil manner. We're all friends here right?"

He shut his mouth and didn't budge an inch. Seeing how Calem was trying to respond, he leaned forward. He hadn't said a word ever since being in his own cell and when he had spoken earlier, his voice came out as a light timid voice, opposed to the deeper one he was developing.

"I think you are a bit mistaken. You know why I am here. Surely the leader of Team Flare would know the reasoning behind me being knocked out and becoming a prisoner."

Lysandre leaned back and shook his head in a scolding manner, "I guess this is rather new to you. You do know that it will be some time before we can trust you. Just so you know, you're not a Pokemon trainer, not a wannabe Champion, you're nothing. Just Calem."

Calem's voice now began to grow threatening, but he was powerless to back up his words at all, "I am a trainer and I will never join you Flare cronies."

"You don't know the story of why I founded Team Flare."

"I don't want to. This is a waste of my time. Once my mother finds out I'm missing, she's going to call the police and they'll be all up your ass."

"Really?" The Flare boss seemed actually quite delighted in the argument, "You really think the police can stop me? There are many things used by the police made by Lysandre labs, some that they take for granted. They come arrest me then much of their tech capabilities will be limited. As for your mother, she can be dealt with." When he saw Calem's hand begin to curl into a fist, he quickly added, "Worry not. Flare will not harm her."

He then picked up the tablet and powered it on. The screen's glow reflected white. He turned it over and slid it across the table, within the boy's reach.

"Do you know what this is?"

When Calem shook his head, Lysandre clasped his hands together and leaned forward. "That is called the Flare Protocol. It contains Flare's motives and methods of constituting our perfect beautiful world. It also gives the instructions for Flare once it has achieved its goal to keep this world free of ugliness."

He gestured with his hand, "Go on. Read it."

"No. I will not be taught how to be a traitor. You can't turn me against Kalos, my friends or the world."

Calem half-expected him to deliver a bonecrushing blow across his face. Instead, Lysandre took the second object, the one hidden and removed it, pointing the barrel of a pistol straight at his forehead. He recognized the pistol. A Luvdisc V3. Rather than firing conventional metal bullets, it acted more like a taser, but with a twist. The cords would send pain to the victim in a unique way. Any thoughts of hate or negativity would cause the victim to be in an unbearable state of pain, which would increase the more intensive the negative feeling. Therefore, thoughts of love and affection were the only way to be spared that. This time, he found himself a bit nervous. Clearly, he was at a disadvantage. He knew he could try for the pistol, but went against it. Lysandre likely had very good reflexes. Calem had never been subject to a torture device and he had no intention now. Especially this one.

"Calem. Don't make me hurt you. I like you. Way more than your irritating friends and your pathetic excuse for a only reason I haven't done so yet is because you're good. There's a reason I want you on my side and it's because you're one of the best trainers I have seen in a long time. You're quiet for the most part, but you have that quality that gets the job done and leaves any nemesis reeling."

"Leave Serena out of this." He knew Lysandre was trying to draw him out, especially by singling her out of their group.

"Why? Your interactions with her are much different than everyone else."

When Calem became silent again, Lysandre took the pad and continued to scroll down. It was evident that any more about this conversation wouldn't be of any help. He picked up a phone and spoke a few words into the speaker that were indistinguishable to him. Moments later, a Flare grunt stepped out from the same room he had come through earlier.

"What are you going to show me?" He asked when the grunt helped him out of the chair.

"The truth. When you finally see the big picture, you'll begin to understand the way I am."

Calem doubted that, but at least it would give him time to mentally prepare for his next confrontation. The grunt began to escort him out of the room.

"Oh and Calem?"

They stopped and looked back at Lysandre, who couldn't help but have a smug look on his face.

"Happy Birthday."

* * *

**The Luvdisc V3 is one nasty torture tool. Wouldn't want to be subject to its effects. It was probably the smart idea to avoid using that.**

**Just to inform, I am becoming more busy. This was supposed to go out days ago, but I haven't really had time to write, edit, post etc. I'll do my best, so I appreciate all of your patience.**

**Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose. I will begin to respond to certain reviews when the next chapter is up.**


	3. Graduation

Calem had now been in Team Flare's captivity for three days now. Routines were the same. They brought him out of his concrete chamber, drenched him in the icy shower and then he sat down to talk with Lysandre for the majority of the day. All of this with the threat of the Luvdisc V3 looming behind his back. Over time, he began to feel tired easily and his own body starting to weaken.

Today seemed different. Once he slipped on the clothes provided, they escorted him away from the chamber where he would speak with the Flare leader. Interestingly enough, he did not have any restraints on him, just a pair of grunts walking alongside, with weapons to subdue him if needed. At first, he wondered if it was merely for show, an intimidation factor that automatically spurred him into doing whatever. However, he had to discard that, because Lysandre didn't seem to be holding back when he knocked him out to be captured.

Obviously something was different. Calem had already known that any chance of escape was impossible and as the days went on, it seemed that they would never truly lower their guard. He had already been given clear opportunities, but it was really a trap. Taking the bait would likely mean torture.

He was shoved inside, where a grunt firmly planted him in a seat in the center of the room. Like the interrogation area, it was dark for about thirty seconds. Oddly, he was not cuffed to the chair.

A bright light snapped on, widening out on the wall and causing him to look away to keep his eyes from hurting. The projector began to play a film.

The screen showed a blue curtain, with the foreground having a podium that had a black emblem in front. Calem recognized it. The University of Lumiose Science and Technology. This was a graduation ceremony.

A man strode to the center, laying his hands on the side. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was Lysandre himself, albeit much younger. His robe had several decorations, meaning that several merits had been awarded. He looked to be in his early twenties, which meant that this occurred less than a decade ago. Calem had found out the other day that Lysandre's age was thirty.

He different significantly from his current appearance, but there was enough to know it was the same individual. His blue eyes seemed to have a different jovial energy and his hair was shorter with a darker brown hue instead of the bright orange.

The young Lysandre began to speak into the microphone. "My fellow graduates, brothers, sisters and mentors. This is a glorious day that shall forever be stored within our hearts. At this very ceremony, once, professors had asked our most intelligent to speak before you. After it was declined, they moved to the most ambitious. That too, was turned down. Finally, they asked the best looking person. Therefore I accepted, because being asked three times is enough already."

This caused the unseen crowd behind where the film was commencing to chuckle. Lysandre smiled thinly before continuing. "Thousands of years ago, a terrible war was waged on this land. It had been finished after the ultimate sacrifice. The improvements we have made since then, not just as a class, but as a society are tremendous. We have a beautiful world waiting in front of us. Embrace it and then work to improve it."

He sipped water from a bottle that was behind the podium before continuing. "Everyone in here has made an impact. All for the greater good. I know all of you have ambitions to make this a more productive world and have set your sights to even higher targets. I place the utmost faith in all of you to work bringing the bright future of Kalos. It won't be easy. Our world is constantly changing and we will be definers of where it will go once it has changed. Do not expect your accomplishments to fall straight into your laps. Working hard to achieve them makes it all worth it. Your success varies by how much effort you all put in."

"Your passion to achieve will drive you to success, so put it into everything you do. It doesn't matter if it's a mere Pokemon battle, a new invention or even finding your ideal soul mate. If it's worthy, then you won't give up. You do give up and it's the one way for sure that you would fail."

He looked up once again, his blue eyes burning hot with ambition. "I don't believe that any one of you will accept failure. Adaptation is key and I know all of you will do great in whatever ambition you seek. We shall step into a new world today to begin the next great phase of our wonderful lives. Thank you and go Pangoros!"

Once he had halted talking, the crowd erupted into applause. The display froze and winked off, followed by just a blank white screen.

"Hope you enjoyed that." Lysandre's voice drifted from behind. Calem gasped and spun around. He had been so engrossed in the speech that he never heard him enter. "That was my valedictorian address speech where I graduated summa cum laude. I had previously run for class president, but lost that. Your beloved professor was elected vice."

"So then what changed you?" He managed to find his voice. "If you had such noble intentions, there must have been something to alter your ideal beliefs. The Holo Caster you created was the biggest thing in Kalos. People were fighting over it when it was first released because demand was so high."

"That proves my point in saying that what people can't share, they will fight over. Sure, we could make more Holo Casters, but the fact that nobody was willing to share means that humanity's stupidity for greed and pleasure outweighs righteous and benefits for the greater good." His expression darkened, almost to what Calem had seen prior to their second battle. "Once you see how humanity has come, you'll begin to agree with me."

Calem remained silent.

Lysandre leaned forward, "I hope you won't be resistant too much. You may think you won't break, but trust me. I'm going to find more about you than you would yourself. You'll break eventually. If I have to make you turn against your friends, so be it. Like I said, if you're zealous enough to complete a task, no matter is too large."

"Even moral ones?"

Lysandre laughed out loud. He looked over to a pair of white jacket Flare admins flanking his side. "What do you think? Our guest has had enough fun for the day?" When the admin nodded, his lips curled into a smile in agreement, "Why don't you give him his lunch and then let him take his afternoon nap?"

* * *

Calem knew the drill by this point. He would be put into his cell and a tray of food would be waiting for him when he arrived back. This was one of two meals he would get throughout the day.

The food was usually a piece of bread, some sort of dried beef and a glass of water. To make chewing the tough jerkylike meat, they had provided him with a knife. The tool had been purposely dulled to prevent him from inflicting any lethal wounds to commit suicide.

Calem scoffed at the thought as he awkwardly cut through. The knife was flimsy and proved to be useless, so he resorted to chewing through. The bread was dry and the jerky tougher than rope. Since protein took a lot of water to digest, he conserved it, not even touching the cup until he finished the crust.

It felt like first rain on a desert when the first droplets hit his tongue. When he placed a piece of meat into his mouth, the water went straight to work, finally making it chewable and enough to swallow.

He continued eating slowly, despite the pangs of hunger rolling through his belly like thunder. Eating too fast could cause additional problems. Once all the beef was gone, he downed the last mouthful of water.

His eyelids felt heavy and there was no stopping them from drooping down for another nap in his chilly chamber.

He had no clue how long he had been out. The only thing on his mind now was his stomach.

It must have started out as a mild ache when he slept because now it felt like someone or something was inside and ripping the lining apart. His throat and innards were on fire.

There was no time to comprehend what it was about. It could've come from the food, but it was the least of his worries at this point.

Calem was on his hands and knees.

Just as a nasty stream of bile and stomach acid decided to make its encore appearance. Tears formed in his eyes as he tried his best to endure the insurmountable pain.

He finally stopped, having regurgitated his entire meal. If this food were poisoned, it was likely the kickoff to the process of breaking him. Knowing that, made him understand that further attempts to keep from breaking would only have more.

For once, he considered being spared the pain. Never in his life had he ever experienced that throbbing feeling. The one thing he hated was the thought of all his friends seeing him now. Trying to be broken and in a weak hapless state.

The door suddenly unlatched and swing upon.

"Oh dear! That is not good!" Calem recognized the voice to be Aliana, one of the scientists for Team Flare. "Why don't we get all of this cleaned up?"

* * *

**Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I'm taking it steady as I'm not totally sure of where I want to take this. Stay tuned for more updates as they come.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.**


	4. Memories

Giving a sigh, Lysandre scratched his face and looked up, eyes reflecting a slight bit of annoyance.

He was seated at a table in the middle of the room, his plate had a finely breaded and stuffed meat portion with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes. Scented candles cast a light yet sweet smell that was just enough, not to overwhelm like what most commercial ones sold.

Two of his best scientists, Aliana and Xerosic stood opposite him. Their body language both indicating that they were very anxious.

"What?" He stated flatly, not hiding the displeasure that his meal had been interrupted.

They exchanged glances before looking back. Aliana decided to go first, "Well the poison did its job. Expensive as hell, but it was worth it."

She had obtained the Bland Powder, a rare extract from a flower that only grew in small numbers in southern Kalos deep into the forested areas. It was tasteless and caused whoever to consume it to experience painful stomachaches. It would be considered unusual if whoever ingested it to not vomit. The powder came in small containers and was not cheap at all, mostly because of the effort into locating it, heavy dense growth and where some very dangerous Pokemon lurked.

"Calem never expected his meal to have been tampered with. If he had any thoughts about us not torturing him, I'm sure they're all displaced now."

Lysandre nodded, "Still. It pains me to see him this way." Most of his sadism could be a facade, but in fact, seeing someone suffer because they defied him still was strangely pleasing. He cursed the fact that the sinful feeling gave him satisfaction.

"Boss." Xerosic spoke up, "We have gone over this before. He won't join us willingly so therefore, we just gave him a little taste of what we're willing to do on our end. He has to know that this is inevitable, that or he will be a changed man."

"Xerosic, we make it too extreme and there will be nothing I can salvage from him."

He turned to Aliana, "Ready another batch of poison, but don't put it in his next meal. I want to give him some more time to think about my proposition. In the meantime, today, I'm going to take it up to another level."

The scientist nodded and hurried off to complete her task.

"How's your meal sir?" Xerosic asked when she had left.

"Overcooked."

"My apologies. The cooks seemed tired today."

Lysandre sighed, "Irrelevant. Anyway, report."

Xerosic was the primary scientist in charge of helping Calem's transfer into Team Flare. None of his methods were considered safe and thus defied morals on multiple scales.

"How is he proving with you?"

"Difficult. He is proving very resistant."

"I figured." Xerosic scratched his pale head. "That's why I told you it was going to be a lost cause from the start. It's not profitable."

"So you want to just let him go?" The taller man stood up and slowly approached.

The scientist was never really afraid of Lysandre, but there were times where anger made someone completely terrifying. This was beginning to get close to that point.

"That would be my option. It isn't ethical."

"Are you challenging me?" He sat back down, clearly done with his meal.

"Just voicing my opinion, but I stand by you one hundred." He looked around. "In the meantime, I may have a possible solution."

"Explain."

"I'd be glad to. Anyway, what if we can get a glimpse at his memories? That way, we'd be able to view all of his weaknesses and strengths. The former to break him and the latter to enhance once he's been turned."

Lysandre pushed the empty plate away, "I am not very keen on physically hurting the kid. However, if that is what needs to be done, so be it."

"Why physically?" Xerosic asked, "Why not mentally? Being tortured isn't always about enduring all of the pain, it's also a test of how mentally tough you can be. Apply too much and it doesn't work and too little won't work. You just need more of a delicate approach. Look at the Luvdisc V3, that is a new tool that is immensely powerful."

"Go on."

"From what I've witnessed of Calem's travels is that he's always searching for answers. Of what, I don't exactly know. Once you've seen his memories, I think you too will have a better idea on how to turn him over."

The Flare leader stood up, "How do you propose we see his dreams?"

In response, Xerosic removed a pokeball from his belt and pressed the button to open the capsule. The ball burst open, forming into a strange floating pink pokemon that looked curled up. Its eyes were closed and from the top of its head, a faint trail of pink mist was seeping out.

"This is Musharna, a Pokemon native to the Unova region. It has the capability to view and share dreams of both people and Pokemon." He said. Musharna floated to Lysandre's side and seemed curious about him. "This one has agreed to help us view and extract Calem's memories."

"I thought you said it viewed dreams. Not memories."

"True, but once we see a dream of his, I can tap into his memories." When Lysandre gave him a dark look, the scientist quickly added, "Of course, we will simply look at them, not tamper in any way shape or form."

"Is it painless?"

"Provided we put him to sleep beforehand. I suggest a different form for intimidation. The use of it will be determined by you."

Lysandre gave a nod, one knowing that this step would mean there would be no turning back. He had just the perfect method.

* * *

"Boss, we've got a bit of a situation here."

In the headquarter buildings of Team Flare, Lysandre moved over to the admin who had called for his attention.

Clad in his white jacket and stylish orange shades, he looked up from his seat. "We've got a protest against Team Flare being rallied in Lumiose at the Lysandre Labs facility. They're demanding that we halt our plans to create a perfect world and leave the region alone."

"Hmph." He scoffed, "People are blind to the evils contaminating our world. Never will they learn." He turned to the admin, "Get a team of grunts out there and drive them out."

"At once." The admin nodded, swiping his pokeballs off the desk and taking his leave.

* * *

"You may have heard of something called the domino effect." Lysandre said as he paced the room. Calem sat in the center, strangely unbound. The table was clear of all items and he also saw a towel and two buckets of water sitting next to it. A coil of rope was wrapped around one of the buckets.

"It means that something powerful knocks someone over and then the rest will follow." He halted, tapping the table with his finger, "You are viewed as someone powerful and in essence, the leader of your five friends."

"You think I'm the leader?" Calem replied coolly, "We're independent. All of us have different goals. Tierno wants to make a dance team, Trevor wants to finish the Pokedex. I have no idea what Shauna wants, but Serena and I are going for the Championship." He paused, "Well I was, until I got whisked away to become an honored guest."

At his sarcasm, Lysandre gritted his teeth, but kept his calm. He would not let this person get the better of him. That was also an element he admired Calem for. As quiet as the kid was, he was definitely talented at verbal warfare. Many things he said seemed to be the right things at the right time.

"Very well. I was going to make a proposition to you that may have been enticing for your needs. However, first, I must know one thing."

The doors opened and two grunts came through. On Lysandre's nod, they grabbed Calem's arms and practically shoved him on the table. One of them flipped him over on his back while the other began to tie his arms and bind his legs together. Part of their facial expressions looked like they weren't very keen on doing this, but they had done it merely for their boss' orders.

Lysandre approached his left side with a bucket of water in one hand and the white towel in the other. The trainer had a bit of an idea of where it was going and now he began to get a little nervous. Itching on his face began to crop up when it normally didn't. His palms began to feel a bit slick, caused by his anxious sweating.

"Have you ever been waterboarded before?"

* * *

**First the Luvdisc V3 and now waterboarding?! Or is Calem really going to be waterboarded?**

**I appreciate all of your patience in waiting. Schedule is all of a sudden sapping up any spare time I get to write. I hope I'm doing well in making all you readers happy.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	5. Expansion

This time, Calem found himself brought into a narrow hallway that looked like a testing laboratory.

Lysandre had bluffed him. He was never waterboarded, but it was enough to keep him under pressure to pass out.

He later awakened back in his cell with another meal. This time, there was no poison and it actually tasted like it came from a good kitchen. It wasn't something he relished in, merely because of their new fair treatment of him, but he knew they were planning something. So he had to be ready for it when it came.

It had been nearly an hour since and his boredom had been interrupted by Lysandre's arrival. When Calem first saw him, there was no sign of the Luvdisc V3 or any torturous tools of the trade.

"You do know that your resilience is very frustrating on my end?" He started, "Countless times I have used these methods to break normal people, who would have cried long ago."

Calem said nothing in reply.

"So perhaps I need to have a different approach. I suppose inflicting pain isn't the way I need to go."

"What do you have in mind?" He turned around.

"A little deal I'd like to propose. I have a little bit of a problem in Lumiose that I need taking care of. What I need you to do is come with me to the lab for a few tests. That is all for today."

He knew that biding his time would be well planned out. When Flare least expected it, he would break free and run away from this nightmarish place. For now, he was strangely curious about what the Flare boss had in mind.

"Come."

Lysandre beckoned to the hallway where he had the boy walk in front. They turned past a few hallways, passing a few other people, all dressed in the Flare outfits. The journey was made in complete silence.

When they arrived at the laboratory, Calem was strapped into the table. This time, he gave no resistance, calmly lying down and let the techs do the work of strapping him down and readying the machines nearby. His eyes widened in uncertainty when one of them approached with a mask and a tube extending out of the bottom.

"What are you doing to me?" He demanded.

Lysandre took the mask and placed it over his nose and mouth. Now, he realized what it was for.

The fighting was nonexistent. He had been tricked. Any attempt to wrest free was met with failure by the straps.

The mask pumped a sleeping gas through that steadily slowed Calem's movements. His eyes dipped down until they shut completely.

Once he was asleep, Lysandre dismissed the technicians and called for Xerosic to come in.

The large man released the Musharna, who floated right behind.

"He is asleep." They saw his chest slowly rise and fall as he breathed. The scientist leaned over and turned off the gas, making sure that Calem still had an oxygen supply to breathe off of.

"Musharna. Give him a pleasant dream as we view his memories." Xerosic commanded as he moved over to a machine. The screen displayed jargon that Lysandre was unable to comprehend. Musharna let out a puff of pink mist that floated down to his face. His features relaxed as the dream took over.

"Remember to keep all of his memories intact." Lysandre told Xerosic. "This has to be done."

"And it can be," The scientist responded, scratching the back of his head, "It merely takes time."

* * *

Calem awoke with a start and looked around angrily. To his left, Lysandre peered over the table down on him. He no longer tasted the bad flavor of the gas that had been fed through the mask.  
"Ah, you're awake. Good."

"What did you do to me?"

"The tests I needed to conduct." He looked over innocently, "Should I do another on one of your friends."

"Rather not."

"Very well. If you're not angry at me, I'd like to introduce you to the deal I have."

Calem's anger still blazed, "In what region would I help you?"

Lysandre chuckled, "Well two for that matter. I have two loose ends I would like to tie up. Of course, with me being involved would arouse too much suspicion. I have someone who I believe is perfect for the job." He smiled thinly, "You."

"So you want me to be your new person to blame for all the crimes?"

"Refusal means either the Luvdisc V3 or one of your friends brought in to undergo the same tests you have done."

Calem knew that he didn't want any of the friends on his journey to go through this process. Especially Serena. The thought pained him.

"Besides. I have some answers to questions that you have been seeking for your entire life." He began to unfasten the straps, letting Calem sit up on the side of the table. "Here. I will show you."

He noticed that a large cylindrical object covered by a black cloth was to Lysandre's right. He reached over and yanked the cover down.

Straight out of a sci-fi movie, the cylinder was actually a containment tube that held a futuristic harness. Everything about it looked sleek, from its black contoured linings for the limbs to the orange visor.

"This is the expansion suit. It was developed by Dr. Xerosic to hopefully improve the capabilities of our grunts and administrators to a new level. It provides the wearer with improved strength, speed and stamina." He was definitely proud of his associate's creation. "If using Pokemon fails, we would continue the fight ourselves."

"I'm supposed to be the face of Team Flare now?"

"No. You won't be. This suit will be all that they see. Your identity will be concealed."

Suddenly Calem's face changed, "That's what the test was for. To synchronize my identity to the suit's."

"You're correct. But I'm not just handing it over. After all, it is very powerful."

"Really?" He saw irony in a man reluctant to hand over the power, but not hesitant to unleash an even greater amount on his own.

"Yes. Your assignment is to halt the trainer protest in Lumoise City. I will provide you the expansion suit as well as a few Pokemon to aid you in this factor, since you do not have any yourself."

"As a matter of fact I do." Calem lowered his voice, "They're away from me."

"That can't be arranged right now. After all, in order to achieve victory, a perfect vision can't come true for all."

"Then I won't do it. I'll never be a traitor to Kalos or myself."

"I think you will." Lysandre pulled up a chair and sat down next to the suit, "The information I hold is something you've been searching for a long time."

"What information?"

The Flare leader now had the opportunity to play his ace. "Things about your father. Things your mother wanted to keep hidden from you."

"How do you know this?"

"That is something I can't tell you."

Calem had always wanted to know more about his father. His mother briefly mentioned him from time to time, but it seemed like a very touchy subject and thus was minimized when ever done. He knew that the more she tried to keep the secret hidden from him, the harder he tried to break it open. She must've known that too, but still refused to tell him anything.

Calem hopped off the table and walked over to the Expansion Suit. Lysandre had already punched in a code to unlock the tube, allowing the front panel to open.

He felt the side of the suit. It was cool to the touch and had a synthetic feel to it, being both tough and flexible simultaneously. All this time his mind was conflicted. Help Team Flare or suffer the consequences. Although Lysandre had a point in his motives, Calem still had no intent on helping him. Yet now, he had to break one of his own reminders to do the greater good and possibly solve one of the biggest questions he had ever since he could remember his own father.

Turning to Lysandre, Calem took his hand off the Expansion suit. The captive's question brought another thin smile to his lips.

"When do we start?"

* * *

**Apologies for not being able to update for a while. Nearly a week and a half I think. My past Halo project had just been completed and thus topped my previous Pokemon story as its longest.**

** Anyway, I think I just put a whole lot more questions than answers in your head. Hopefully it's teaser enough to where I want to take this.**

**Next chapter will center around either one of Calem's memories shared with Flare or with Serena, who is forced to break the news to his mother.**

**Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	6. First

Serena had expected Grace to break out in tears and grief over the loss of her son. She knew he wasn't dead, but it was clear that he was in a situation where death seemed to be a better option.

All this time, she had raised him how she was raised herself. With love and emphasis on independence and maturity. She felt as if it was too much, as Calem didn't seem to stop and enjoy some of the other things in life. It was no surprise to her that Serena had called from time to time when she met with him, saying that Calem never seemed to really focus on her. It came as a surprise to the mother.

Ever since she saw both of them together she knew that he liked her instantly. It wasn't from words or gestures, but his body language. He knew that he wanted to be more than just her friend.

Suddenly the feeling of his capture was far more powerful than any previous Rhyhorn race she had lost.

Serena sat up in the chair inside Calem's living room while Grace was on the sofa with her head in her hands. Even the stoic mother was visibly shaken. Calem wasn't even twenty yet and he could be undergoing mind boggling interrogation processes right now. Even worse was that she got nowhere with the police department.

"Listen." Serena said, "I'm sorry. We were coming out when Team Flare captured him. I just wish we would have done it together."

"Serena." Grace looked over, "It's not your fault. Calem chose to stay behind."

"Yes, but I feel he wouldn't be in danger right now I just left."

"He's a strong young man. If anyone can make it through something what he's going through, it's him."

"What do we do now?"

Grace sighed, "We wait. The police are still investigating Team Flare. If they find out he's been captured and tortured, then they will rescue him."

"When will that be?"

"I don't know."

Serena stood up, "Then we have to do something."

"What is there to do? You can't just go out and raid a place without authorization. That's against the law. Penalty for that on Kalosian soil is years in jail. I want him to be rescued as much as you do. Trust me," Grace's eyes hardened, "I don't think he's just your friend."

Serena felt a blush creep up her face, "What? No! I don't like him that way!"

"It's okay." After all, I'm his mother. Your secret is safe with me."

"I don't like him! I swear." She repeated.

"The matter is irrelevant to me right now." Grace said, her arm extended and around the corner came a tiny Fletchling, perched ever so carefully on the elbow. "Listen; just continue your journey like normal. I know it's hard to say this, but forget about him right now. The more your thoughts dwell, the less progress you make."

Serena nodded. She would never forget him though and her optimism soared on the thoughts of seeing Calem again.

"You know Grace? I never really heard much about his father."

Grace froze. Calem's father was the last thing she had on her mind. However, part of her was telling to spill the beans already because it may bring some insight on his distant personality. Of all the girls Calem had interacted with in the past, he seldom showed interest. Sure, he maintained a friendly demeanor, but he never really stepped out of his shell to talk with one. She didn't know if it was because he didn't know how or just didn't care.

When Serena arrived, it was different. The subtle movements he made, his body language and his eyes softened whenever he looked at her. There was definitely something in Serena he saw that was worth seeking.

"This is a very touchy subject." Grace began. "Let me get some tea first and then I'll tell you. Not even Calem knows who his real father is and I feel it could change him forever if he finds out."

"For the better or for the worse?"

Grace looked down, "I don't know." She stood up and headed into the kitchen.

* * *

In Lumiose City, the night was alive with a light coming from the Lysandre labs facility. Countless people stood in front, protesting Team Flare's failed use of the ultimate weapon. With the secret out, the people had enough. This protest would result in Team Flare's final defeat and hopeful eradication from Kalos. Many of the protestors had blind eyes to the true motives, knowing only they tried to activate a weapon of mass destruction.

The grunts had sent out their Pokemon to keep the crowd at bay. None of them would have expected such strong resistance. Most of their own battlers were far from being weak, but time and time again proved that some of the grunts were poorly trained trainers. The protestors used this to their advantage, easily outmaneuvering the grunts and defeating them in full sweeps.

Shauna was in the thick of it. The girl had no idea where or how the protest had started, but for some reason, this was a place to start looking for Calem. Part of her wanted to see him safe, but she mainly wanted to put an end to Serena's growing depression. Grace wasn't the only one aware of the feelings Serena and Calem had for one another.

The flare admin she was facing had no idea how to battle. Weren't they supposed to not be your average flare crony? Her Goodra was on a complete rampage. The admin had sent out a manectric that was easily taken out with dragon pulse. Now he had a Toxicroak battling and by the condition of both trainer and Pokemon, the battle was going to be over in minutes.

"Goodra, Body slam!"

Her pokemon launched forward jumping skyward as the Toxicroak looked up, transfixed by the airborne giant to move. Goodra slammed down on Toxicroak with immense force, getting up off of a clearly knocked out pokemon. It let out a huff at the defeated opponent and stood in front of Shauna again.

The admin raised his arms in disbelief, "See? This is what happens when I get useless Pokemon to work with."

"Give up Flare!" Someone shouted in the crowd, above all the noise, "You're done!"

"Never. Flare never stops until we have accomplished our goal!"

"You've got a long way for that."

"Heh." The admin turned around and then rotated back, holding a Holo Caster in front of him. "Our great leader has sent you a message. So before you come knocking our door down again, I'd heed this if I were you."

He pressed the play button and a hologram of Lysandre appeared on the concrete. Instantly, the crowd of protestors halted. This new display was life size, easily being six feet tall.

"This has got to stop. Any further action of the undoing of Team Flare will result in unpleasant consequences."

"Lysandre!" Shauna angrily shouted, causing the hologram to face her. "What have you done with Calem?"

"Where he is doesn't matter. What matters is that the will of Kalos has denied me to reform the world to a better standard. My patience is beginning to be whittled away. I highly advise everyone here to not push it. After all, my ace card is here now and will not hesitate to put all of you down."

"What ace card?"

"Someone who can take on anyone here and easily defeat them."

"Can't take on everyone though!" This had caused the crowd to cheer in support.

"No." Lysandre gave a smile, "However I can't guarantee that all of you emerge victorious. Or even alive for that matter. I suggest you all halt this causeless rioting. This is your first and only warning."

The hologram disappeared. Shauna looked around. There was no sign of any of the flare personnel. They must have used the message as a distraction to slip away unnoticed.

"Doesn't matter." Someone said, "I'll never join Team Flare or agree with what they say! As long as they're here, they're trouble!"

"Trouble huh?"

Everyone halted at the sound of the voice. It was deep, masculine and menacing. Even more dreadful was the fact that its origin couldn't be found. Shauna felt a bit of fear creep into her veins.

"I'm about to cause trouble for all of you."

Suddenly it seemed like an explosion, but black smoke pooled out of nowhere, rising up in arching tentacles. Movement was seen inside and a light snapped on, moving about as if getting its surroundings.

The figure stepped out. It was clad in a sleek black exoskeleton with an amber visor. Everything about it seemed to install fear. It certainly did its job, as the crowd began to murmur in nervousness.

The figure looked down at Shauna, although eyes were unseen, its gaze seemed to be very drilling. It reached down to its belt and removed a pokeball.

"So who's first?"

* * *

**Hope everyone is still enjoying the story.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	7. Deal

Shauna had bit much more off than she could chew. The passion she had for putting down evil actually spelled her undoing. Calem, now under the influence of Team Flare inside the Expansion Suit easily accepted her challenge. She put out her Goodra, most likely her strongest Pokemon,

Goodra had done its best in battle against Calem's loaned Pangoro, but ultimately the gooey dragon Pokemon fell to a devastating Sky Uppsercut. In tears, Shauna returned her Pokemon when Calem reveled in his own victory, now in an arrogant and pompous manner.

Two more defiant trainers had later stepped up and were just as easily defeated by him. The riot in Lumiose eventually began to subside, as now fear of reprisal was fresh on their minds. More grunts had come to his aid, but they were never needed. Instead, they stood at his side imposingly, now just an intimidation factor.

Calem and the Pangoro stood at the steps to Lysandre Labs until nobody even dared to come close.

The feeling of instilling fear into others was surprisingly satisfying to him. He wanted to have a presence that immediately commanded respect. Being a complete jerk wasn't the way to accomplish that, but it did bring opinions to himself that he enjoyed.

He always wanted to have that edge when in competitive battling. Body language or attitude could get the other trainer paranoid and mess with their heads, dulling other factors that he would actually go after.

His mother had never taught him to be impolite or rude to others. Now under Team Flare's guidance, the Expansion suit stimulated emotions like anger, arrogance and a feeling of self-centeredness.

"Lysandre come in."

Inside the suit, Calem looked completely normal despite the entire harness being controlled remotely from Xerosic's lab. The Flare leader had just opened the file to Calem's own memories when the former called.

"Calem, have the riots halted?"

"They have." He recalled Pangoro and looked to the display onscreen where he sat in a chair. "I've done my part of the deal. Now you hold up yours."

Lysandre chuckled, "Not quite. I still have a loose end to tie. I'm sending you location now."

Calem saw the feed and paled. This was not a place he wanted to go. Especially in his current state.

"I sense a detection of change in your heart rate. Is something wrong?"

"No."

Lysandre cocked an eyebrow, "You're not you anymore. I have plans. The ultimate weapon is being used now and another one in the near future. Your target has the key."

"You made a promise and you broke it."

"I broke nothing. Remember that you are not in a position to negotiate anything. Right now, you are my ultimate weapon. Calem, there's a reason I chose you over everyone else in your little group of friends. It's that you're flexible, calm and you think outside the box a lot. I've watched how all five of you battle. So correct me if I get any names wrong. Tierno uses style; a dazzling performance that conceals quite a powerful finish. Trevor is constantly analyzing his opponent for flaws or patterns to properly counter. Shauna uses her utter determination. You should have watched her in your battle. Her Pokemon are all very zealous, not just because they want her to be proud, but they are just as motivated to accomplish the goal. Now you and Sierra are both of those. Only you are much more flexible. A jack of all trades if you will. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." He didn't want to incite that he had gotten Serena's name wrong. It was evident that he mispronounced it purposely. It was bait and he wasn't going to take it.

"Good. Any resistance is to be dealt with. You have the tools to do so. Don't disappoint me."

* * *

**I finally have put the main focus of where I want to take this together! This is going to be a bit of a short chapter, evidenced clearly. Next chapter is already done, but I'm still working on it. This is an update day so my Halo projects are getting an update too.**

**Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	8. Flashback I

**Before I get started, I just want to clarify that this is a flashback chapter, as Lysandre glimpses through Calem's memories. I'm not completely done playing the game quite yet and these flashback segments will be kept on track by how far I am within the game. All future ones like this will have a notification as well.  
**

* * *

Morning had hit Calem so fast. One moment he was fast asleep in his new room, the next he had felt a sharp jab, thanks to the family Fletchling.

He flinched as the bird chirped innocently before taking its leave back downstairs of his house.

Moving in wasn't his favorite thing in the world. He knew that Kalos was a beautiful place and listed as one of the best places to live. The quietness of Vaniville was inviting thanks to its solitary location but also close to larger cities like Lumiose, which were an hour's drive north.

Knowing his mother would have a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes downstairs, he yawned and rolled out from the warm confines of his bed. Little did he know that this would be the last time he would be able to sleep in it for a long time.

Looking in the mirror, he knew that going outside in his pajamas would not be very appealing. So he rifled through one of his dressers and took out a pair of jeans, white T-shirt and a jacket. A red cap that he had received as a child was placed atop his head with green lensed sunglasses. He laced his feet with brown boots before he headed downstairs.

The television was on downstairs and immediately hearing the commercial he turned to the screen.

The man onscreen was none other than Mr. Havok. The defending champion for the Unova region, he had an elaborate way of battling as well as always finding new ways for an edge. He was best known for his flamboyant personality.

All champions of regions were Calem's inspiration, but Havok was different from most.

He had won the championship against Unova's previous, Alder and until two years ago lost it to a girl named Iris. One year ago, he managed to challenge her and reclaimed his title.

The intended humorous commercial starring him was for a Unova finance company and he was currently in an excited posture, fists held up and a huge smile on his face. The scene looked as if he was coaching his Pokemon during one of their practice sessions.

"Run go! Go!" His smile dropped, "What?"

He turned back to his Pokemon right behind him, a tall Sawk and Serperior, two Pokemon he was known for using very effectively in battle. The next parts would have him with some more coaching.

"Hey!" He turned back, facing the "audience" "We need to focus more on their posture!"

"I'm not yelling. I'm not mad."

"There should be nobody poisoning anybody!"

A blue of motion came behind the Champion as a woman approached him, "Mr. Havok?"

He was in the midst of lecturing again and the screen was zoomed out to show that he was actually advising a bunch of kids with various basic starter Pokemon. "If you can't keep the anchor Pokemon in place, then you're done for!" He turned around to face her, "Yes?"

"You're doing a good job so far."

He nodded, looking back at the kids and watching one of them yawn. "Well they're making steady progress."

"Good to hear." She gave a smile.

"Hey!" He yelled out loud, startling the kids, "Did I say you could take a break?"

Then the commercial ended with a sweepstakes saying something about investments and winning a chance to have the Unova Champion coach their kids and their Pokemon.

"Calem?" His mother snapped him out of his thoughts from being absorbed by the commercial. "You all rested from the move?"

"Yes. I feel super."

"Why don't you step out and say hello to the neighbors?"

"Mom!" He protested, but his mother had already left to the other room, "I haven't…even eaten yet." He hated going anywhere except a place to eat on an empty stomach. He could cook, but there was no way his mother would let him touch the new stove before meeting new people first.

Sighing, he stepped to the front door, easing it out carefully. Last time he went through, he forgot that the mechanism swung out much easier for the first few inches before putting some control in care of not hitting the wall. He had made the mistake earlier of pushing with full force and nearly fell through the threshold.

Something like that would make him feel klutz and wouldn't be a good first impression to new neighbors.

This time, he anticipated the door's behavior and stepped through to see two girls standing opposite him. They turned towards him in response to the sound of the entrance opened and he got a good first look. Calem didn't have high hopes of meeting many girls in Vaniville, since it was one of Kalos' smallest settlements. However, these two were the first he met since he arrived.

The girl on the right had brown hair, wore shorts and a pink shirt. Her eyes sparkled green and she looked very energetic. However it was the girl on the left that held his attention.

She was a bit taller than her friend, with blonde hair, gray eyes and wore a gray shirt with a red skirt underneath. He couldn't tell but he strangely felt a bit unnerved by their presence. Nevertheless, their expressions went to smiles when he emerged from his home.

"Welcome to Vaniville Town! My name's Serena, I'm your neighbor!"

"And I'm Shauna! Great to meet you!"

"Name's Calem." He said, smiling as well. "Good to meet you girls as well."

"Guess what?" Shauna piped, not even waiting for him to answer. "We've come to get you."

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "For what?"

"The esteemed Professor Sycamore lives here in the Kalos region." Serena said. "I heard he has a request for five kids, including us. But, I'm a little surprised he knows who you are. You did just move to Vaniville after all."

"I'm surprised too." Calem agreed, "Let me know where you want me to meet you guys."

"We'll wait for you in the next town over and guess what?!" Shauna's bubbly self was now beginning to grow a bit on him, "We're going to get a Pokemon!" She turned to Serena, "C'mon hurry! Let's go!"

With that, the two girls bounded off, leaving a confused Calem behind. They opened a gate at the front of the town and moved forward.

Calem was definitely confused at why Professor Sycamore asked for him as well. He wasn't native to Kalos and hadn't even met the man, although he had read multiple things about him. His research articles about Pokemon's hidden abilities and powers had earned him a PhD. Graduated from LSAT as class president and top honors. One accomplished man.

Mom quickly escorted him out of the house when he told her that he was headed out. She knew that he would stay safe, but it was still good to explore around. Not wanting to be left behind, he quickly bounded through the gates to reach the next area.

"Calem over here!"

Inside the next town he headed over to what Serena dubbed, the "meeting place"

"We were just talking about you!" Shauna squealed with Serena sharing a similar expression.

Calem wanted to inquire more, but he held his tongue. Two new boys were across the table from him and Serena gestured to the seat next to herself for him to sit.

"Everyone." Serena looked around, "This is Calem."

"Wow!" The larger boy gave a nod, "Shauna's description was spot on!" So it was his appearance that was what they were talking about him.

"This is Tierno." The larger boy's lips curled upward, "He's got some serious dance moves. And this is Trevor, he never misses a question on a test, but he's a little shy."

"Alright!" Tierno grinned, "Nice to meet ya! You know, I think we'd be a closer crew if we called each other by nicknames. Can I call you C-Meister?"

"No way! He's Lil C for sure!"

Serena and Calem remained silent, even as Tierno asked a disbelieving Trevor to nickname someone he had just met. Had this continued to Serena, Calem would have found it to be quite funny. Suddenly he didn't feel so out of place anymore. Kalos kids didn't seem that much different than from his original home. Thankfully, Serena asked for his own opinion.

"The low-key by Trevor sounds good." Calem agreed, making Trevor finally look up since they met. "I was called Cal since I was a kid."

"You want us to call you Cal?" Shauna asked.

"Yeah that's fine." He agreed. It was way better than C-Meister, that's for sure.

"Ok, it fits you perfectly! I'm sure we're gonna be great friends so I'll call you that too!"

Tierno had brought out the Pokemon by Shauna's request and wished us the same great feeling they had when they had met their own firsts as well. Since they both had one of their own and there was three of them, he, Serena and Shauna would get their first.

The three Kalos region starters were ones he was familiar with, having researched them before moving over in case he could start his journey there. The basics, Grass-type Chespin, Fire-type Fennekin and Water-type Froakie. It was a tough decision, as all three of them seemed quite appealing. With hard work and perseverance, he knew that they could become very powerful battlers.

He made his decision. It was one that he had no regrets on.

* * *

**More clarification. Havok is my OC from my incomplete Havok across Unova. I thought I'd give him a cameo along with a bunch of funny sports commercials whenever I'm watching football. ****Hope everyone's enjoying the story so far.**

**Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


	9. Loose Ends

Professor Sycamore casually tossed his empty cup of coffee into the trashcan. He made a perfect swish, which was irrelevant to the research and information that plagued his mind.

The news of Calem's abduction by Team Flare was nothing new to him. Knowing Lysandre on a personal level, he knew that he would take things to an extreme level in order to accomplish his goals.

That night, he would dismiss his entire staff, save for Sina and Dexio, who would work closely with him to deduce Lysandre's plan and halt it for good. Since he had no clue what plan B he had, there was no real place to start.

"Professor?" He looked up to find Sina with a look of genuine concern etched on her face, "You look horrible."

His normal lively look had been replaced by a more disheveled facial features. His hair felt a bit oily from not washing and he was running on caffeine, going on thirty hours without sleep.

"I know." He spun around to his computer, which had information bursting around it in the forms of yellow and orange sticky notes with seemingly random gibberish scrawled over. "It's just frustrating seeing Lysandre and Team Flare like this. Maybe he was right at making the world a better place. I'm just not sure this is the way though."

"Do you think you can persuade him otherwise?"

"It's too late for that. I've learned that Lysandre is among the most zealous of any person I've met and that means a lot of people. If someone can turn him, then he can turn anyone. I fear for Calem's safety, because Lysandre won't stop until he completes his goal."

"Could he be dead?"

"He's no use to Flare dead. I think something far worse is going on. That's why we gotta stop him."

"To save Calem? You know his friends are already trying to find a way?"

"Yes. I've noticed that Serena is leading their efforts."

Sina let out a slight giggle, "I think she likes him."

Sycamore shot her a look that easily told her they were way off topic.

"Sorry." She turned serious again, "It may be. But why are you screwing yourself over someone you know is too far to be reasoned with?"

His eyes darkened, "I feel that I'm responsible for the extreme actions he has resorted to. He tried to reform the world and failed. Now he's back and more dangerous than ever and I used to know that he was aware of the consequences of his work. Now it's apparent that he does not care."

"Look. Lysandre is the way he is because he chose to be that way. If you can't take responsibilities for his successes, then you can't for his failures or downfalls either. Look at Serena and the others. You weren't there for them except when you needed to be and they're all now excellent trainers."

Sycamore opened his mouth to speak but shut it once again. He looked over at Sina, "How old are you?"

She looked embarrassed at the question, "Twenty-two sir."

"You're wise beyond your words."

"Thanks."

The elevator doors to the front of the lab opened and Sycamore's second assistant, Dexio stepped out. He was holding a cardboard box and the top was open, stacked with multicolored books.

"Got everything I could find." He was breathing a bit heavily, most likely from the weight of the box. "Thing's heavy. Thankfully a Gogoat was able to carry it from LSAT over here with ease."

"Good job." Sycamore had ordered Dexio to return to the Lumiose Science Academy of Technology to retrieve records of Lysandre's and his own studies during their time over there. His presumption was that perhaps he could find what the Flare leader had planned inside. "Let's get to work."

They were browsing for anything in relation to a world reform for a full half hour when Sycamore really began to feel drowsy. As if a Pokemon had used Yawn and induced it upon him. His eyelids felt as if weights had been strapped upon them. Although Sina and Dexio felt the same way, they had at least some sleep. Soon enough, coffee wasn't going to be enough to keep him going.

"Professor," Dexio said, "I think we should stop for today. We'll be asleep for all of tomorrow if we keep this up."

Sycamore looked at the clock, it was a quarter until one in the morning. "Yeah, we better get going."

As they packed up, the lab fell into silence when machines were turned off. They heard the low roar of aircraft fly overhead before petering out. Oddly, it was much louder than normal, as Lumiose City International Airport was located on the northeastern side.

"Huh." Sina looked up, "I didn't know AK flew this late." AK was short for Air Kalos, the state-owned air travel company of Kalos.

"AK just introduced flights to Arbil. Wouldn't mind taking a vacation there." Dexio added, giving Sina a wink that went unnoticed by her.

"Alright then." Sycamore slung his bag over his shoulder, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Before either assistant could respond, the entire place was plunged into total darkness. Sycamore's heart skipped a beat. Sina and Dexio flinched.

"Power's out?"

"Weird. Thought Calem had already liberated the power plant."

"Is it back under-" Dexio was cut off by Sycamore putting a hand to his mouth, "Quiet!" He hissed, "You hear that?"

The three of them strained their ears, picking up a hissing sound. It almost sounded like the glass was being cut.

"GET DOWN NOW!" Sycamore shoved his assistants to the floor. With a ear-splitting crash, the windows shattered, sending razor glass flying through the air. Anything not behind cover such as several of Sycamore's papers on his desk were shredded to pieces.

Smoke began to fill the room, causing the fire alarms to go off. Their strobe lights briefly illuminated the passageways and the loud horn began to wail.

Sycamore shifted where he was hiding, all wondering why people would come after him like this. He had nothing to hide, yet still had threats from indeterminate sources. Either way, he would give up whatever the demands where without hassle. This time, the threat was real and he wasn't about to look like a coward.

Something grappled in the smoke and they heard the fire alarm being torn off of its mount, silenced.

"Good." Dexio whispered, "That horn was driving me nuts." This earned a disbelieving look from his two colleagues.

"Professor Sycamore." A deep threatening voice boomed from the other end. The three of them could see a stark beam of light cutting through the smoke. It shifted from place to place, scanning. "You are to come with me. Refuse and I destroy your lab regardless of what's inside."

Sycamore remained quiet, shifting over to his bag. He rifled through, taking out a pokeball. He nodded at them, ready to neutralize the intruder.

"That's not going to happen."

The figure turned around. The carbon synthetic design of its exoskeleton was familiar to say. Crafted finely, the suit moved so fluidly, it seemed as if it was actually part of its body.

It advanced forward, zealous enough in its task to shove aside a chair. Sycamore grabbed whatever he could, a ballpoint pen and flung it as hard as possible.

The plastic object normally would not be able to harm the inside of the suit, but remarkably, it had managed to punch straight through the visor. Thankfully the operator wasn't harmed, but part of the visor had shattered off, with shards of the polymer exploding outwards. The professor could now see the eye of the operator himself.

"Take him!" The suited man removed a pokeball and threw it out. Revealing a menacing Scolipede; Sycamore had no choice but to send out a pokemon himself.

"Hey!"

The figure halted and turned around just as his own pokemon let out a roar and charged forward.

Sycamore sent out his Venusaur for defense and the two began to fiercely battle. Had he not been so desperate, he would have admired Scolipede's ability to battle without instruction from its trainer.

Sina and Dexio stood opposite him with their fists raised. He let out a low growl and raised his own.

The two assistants weren't the masked heroes for nothing, especially if they weren't trained in hand-to-hand combat. However neither of them expected the suited Calem to play nice.

The kicking of the stand nearby was so fast; they barely had any time to dodge. It crashed in the back of the lab.

Sina was first, launching a punch intent on aiming at his face. Being faster, Calem easily dodged it, throwing her off before turning to her partner.

Dexio found himself being tackled to the ground, rolling to the side to avoid a fist that cracked the floor. He parried another blow, landing two painful strikes of his own right to the stomach.

Calem doubled over before counterattacking. He grabbed a desk, digging his fingers into the wood and scratching it as he moved the heavy object. The masked her moved in to attack again and he lashed out with a lightning kick. Once he had fallen down, Calem slammed the desk down on the floor, careful to make sure that the action hadn't killed him.

Dexio let out a cry of pain and pushed, in a vain attempt to free himself.

"Dexio!" Sina cried, rushing forward to avenge his incapacitation.

Calem noticed her and glanced briefly at the pokemon battle. Venusaur had just taken a nasty poison tail from Scolipede, who seemed to be holding its own for now. Once he dealt with Sycamore's assistants, he would finish the battle himself and take the professor.

Sina ducked under Calem's swinging fists and he automatically retracted his arms back for another close range blow, however she was set on getting behind him. His hands found her back and he yanked her forward.

Pain lanced through her arms as she tried to hold on. Eventually, she had to relent, letting go and she slumped to the ground. Her eyelids closed and before they did, he could see the white orbs.

Calem felt an immense pain in his back, but unfortunately was in no position to do anything. He moved over to the battle where Venusaur, badly exhausted was returned by Sycamore, who did not wish for his own Pokemon to take any more damage.

"You make a wise choice Professor." He stepped over, "Someone has loose ends to tie up with you."

The roar of engines returned, this time, Sycamore knew that it was no airplane. Team Flare must have some sort of vertical flying aircraft of their own.

Who would want to tie up loose ends with him? He hadn't made any massive enemies, but then again, he held a lot of information and that could be put to harmful use. Not just to Kalos, but possibly the world.

Sycamore watched in horror as the figure and its Pokemon partner came for him.

* * *

**Apologies for longer posts, schedule is getting busy.**

**My thoughts go out to MH370, the Malaysian Airlines 777 that disappeared last week.**

**As always, thank you very much for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.**


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